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Criticism of the Inheritance Cycle
The Inheritance cycle has had a fair deal of criticism, under the belief that Christopher Paolini is a writer of less than average skill and that his plotlines may be derived from other sources. Various groups and websites have been founded for this purpose since the first book, Eragon, was published. Derivative Similarities to Tolkien Many critics hold that some of the story’s aspects come directly from J. R. R. Tolkien, such as the following: * The elves of both Tolkien and Paolini are tall, beautiful, immortal, and have keen senses, as well as being proficient at archery. Additionally, these elves have strong bonds with nature and some live in the trees. As some Elves returned to Middle-earth in Tolkien’s legendarium, Paolini’s elves sailed to Alagaësia from a hidden land over the seas, do not sleep, and the only way to kill them is through a wound or heartbreak. * The humans of Paolini's world who are the superior race in the land are similar to the Númenóreans of Tolkien's legendarium. Like the Númenóreans, Paolini's humans came from a distant land to the southwest of the main continent where the stories take place. * Another similarity is the quote of Paolini’s elvish queen Islanzadí, "I am diminished." and the quote of the Tolkien’s elven Lady Galadriel, "I will diminish." * Critics also see similarities in the dwarven race. The concept of a gruff mining race is found in the works of both authors. The elves and dwarves in both cases do not get along, but for different reasons. But in many things with dwarves they are portrayed as a mining race. * Eragon leaves Alagaësia at the end of the last book, Inheritance, on an elven ship, with elves and one of his old mentors (Glaedr). This is similar to Frodo Baggins leaving Middle-earth at the end of The Lord of the Rings on one of Círdan's elven ships with Galadriel, Celeborn, and Gandalf (Frodo's mentor). * There are many geographic similarities between Alagaësia and the West of Middle-earth. Bordering the western coast there is a mountain range split in two by a lake (the Spine in Paolini's stories and the Blue Mountains in Tolkien's legendarium). The sea to the south borders a southern kingdom (Surda in Paolini's stories and Gondor in Tolkien's legendarium). There is a northern forest ruled over by elves (Du Weldenvarden in Paolini's stories and Mirkwood/Greenwood in Tolkien's stories). The capital of the great human kingdom in the land has a city with many towers and walls (Ilirea/Urû'baen in Paolini's stories and Minas Tirith in Tolkien's legendarium). * Surda is also comparable to Gondor, the Man Kingdom at the borders of the evil lands. * Many also see the forbidden love between Arya and Eragon as a reproduction of the love between Arwen and Aragorn. * Many have made comparisons between the evil races of both stories: Ra'zac and Nazgûl, the Lethrblaka and Fell Beasts, the Urgals and Orcs, and the Kull and Uruk-hai. * In the fourth book, Inheritance, page xii first paragraph reads, "Their scales were like gems, and all who gazed upon them despaired, for their beauty was great and terrible." This uses many keywords and similar meaning as in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the paragraph about Galadriel and the One Ring, "And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night.... All shall love me and despair!" (page 410 second to last paragraph). * In the Surdan village of Deldarad, Roran slays 193 soldiers, which were counted off by his men. This is similar to Legolas and Gimli's competition to see who can kill more Orcs at the Battle of Helm's Deep in Tolkien's The Two Towers, and several other battles in Peter Jackson's film adaptations. * In Inheritance, Elva reveals that she has been given a mail shirt made by two dwarf brothers, Ûmar and Ulmar. This resembles the thirteen dwarves who whisk Bilbo Baggins away from his home in The Hobbit, many of whom are close relatives with similar names, such as Balin and Dwalin, Fili and Kili, Bifur and Bofur, etc. * Lord Barst in Inheritance ''and the Witch-king in ''Return of the King ''are very similar, as they both carry a mace, kill a king/queen, are the commander of the antagonist's armies, and are very hard to kill. * Critics furthermore believe that Paolini directly copied names from the works of Tolkien or just switched some letters around. The following is a list of possible such names: * 'Angrenost' – king of the Broddring Kingdom :*'Angrenost''' – Elvish name for Isengard * Arya – elven princess, Eragon's love interest :*'Arwen' – elven noblewoman, Aragorn's love interest * Eragon – hero of the Inheritance cycle, is a human :*'Aragorn' – a hero of The Lord of the Rings, ''is a human ''(Note: Aragon is a region of Spain, and Christopher Paolini has stated that the name came from the word dragon.) * Beorn - the elves' name for a cave bear unique to the Beors :*'Beorn' - a character in 'The Hobbit' who had the power to transform into a bear (Note: Beorn is also an Old Norse word meaning bear.) * Celbedeil - a dwarvish temple :*'Celebdil' - a peak of the Misty Mountains * Ceranthor – an elvish monarch :*'Caranthir' – one of the sons of Fëanor * Elessari – a member of the Council of Elders :*'Elessar' – title of Aragorn * Eridor – a former dragon :*'Eriador' – a region of northern Middle-earth * Faelnirv - an elven drink ** Faelvrin - Gwindor's name for Finduilas. * Fenmark - a province west of Surda, to which the city of Aroughs belongs :* Fenmarch - a province of Rohan * Furnost – minor town in Alagaësia :*'Fornost' – a deserted city in Middle-earth * Gil'ead – an ancient elven city in Alagaësia :*'Gil-galad' – High King of the Ñoldorin Elves (Note: Gilead is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Kingdom of Jordan.) * Hadarac – a desert in Alagaësia :*'Harad' – a desert continent in Middle-earth * Inzilbêth – the province where Galbatorix was born :*'Inzilbêth' – a queen of Númenor * Isenstar – a lake of Alagaësia :*'Isengard' – a large fortress of Middle-earth * Istalri - the word for "flame" in the Ancient Language :*'Istari' - the original term for wizards in Tolkien's legendarium * Kirtan - a city in Du Weldenvarden :*'Cirdan' - a very old elf and one of the holders of the Three Rings * Melian – a town of Alagaësia :*'Melian' – a minor goddess and queen of Doriath * Mithrim '– part of the name of a stone art piece :*'Mithrim – a land of Beleriand * Morgothal – Fire god of the Dwarves :*'Morgoth' – the evil god, the Enemy of the World, appearing in The Silmarillion * Oromis - 'Dragon Rider who trained Eragon ** '''Oromë - '''one of the Valar * 'Roran - Eragon's cousin ** Rohan - a kingdom of men in Middle Earth * Sindri - Earth god of the Dwarves ** Sindar - A group of Elves that decided to remain in Beleriand until the First Age's end * [[Snowfire|'Snowfire']] - Brom's horse ** Snowmane - King Theoden's horse * Thuviel- A Rider who sacrificed himself during the Fall. ** Tinuviel- The name given to Luthien the Fair by Beren. * Vanilor – a former dragon :*'Valinor' – the home of the gods in Aman Similarities to Lucas Critics also claim that the plot line of the Inheritance Cycle is similar to that of Star Wars. Other Similarities Other than The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, critics have found other similarities elsewhere. In the series Dragonriders of Pern, the dragons choose their Riders and speak to them telepathically, as they do in Eragon ''. The dragon Tiamat also speaks telepathically in the book ''Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. The beginning of Eragon resembles the beginning of Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World, and the end resembles that of The Dragonbone Chair. There are also similarities to Edding's Belgariad series, in the passage in which he learns to take energy from his surroundings. Unrealistic Warfare The warfare and weaponry of Alagaësia has also come under scrutiny. Strategy The campaign between the Varden and Empire has been criticized as containing somewhat plain and simple general strategy (just attacking cities closer and closer to Urû'baen). Also, it has been noted that the Empire never won a single large-scale battle, something that has been widely criticized as unrealistic (it was noted in Brisingr, however, that the Empire won some very minor skirmishes). The only battles the Empire won were the Battle of Carvahall and the Yazuac Massacre. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that Eragon and Saphira were the only Rider and Dragon that particated heavily in a major battle (Murtagh does kill King Hrothgar in the Battle of The Burning Plains, and Shruikan flies out to intimidate the Allied Army in the Battle of Urû'baen; however these are isolated attacks, and didn't inflict any direct widespread casualties). Strategy during the Battle of the Burning Plains Additionally, some criticize the massive poisoning carried out by Angelaasunrealistic for two reasons. Firstly, the fact that Angela is allowed to walk into the enemy camp at any time is questionable by itself. Secondly, the fact that she had enough poison hidden in her clothes to kill hundreds, if not thousands of enemy soldiers without getting caught is unrealistic. The use of trebuchets and siege engines in an open battle has also been criticized. Such weapons are meant for and very useful for sieges and attacks upon a city, where they can be used to destroy an enemies walls, or if propelled over the walls into a city, destroy buildings and food stockpiles, and thus inflict large collateral damage. In an open battle, however, they are much less useful; They can only be used effectively in cases when the opposing army is densely packed together. Strategy during the Battle of Urû'baen The Siege Weapons in Urû'baen have also been criticized. The Empire had no need for Catapults and Siege Weapons in Urû'baen; they were defending a city from an army that was loosely packed, with Walls described as being well over 300 feet tall. Such Siege weapons would have a large risk of hitting the wall, thus weakening their own defenses. In fact, in the book, Roran has dodge out the way of a chunk of the wall collapsing from being hit by one of the projectiles. In addition, the entire city of Urû'baen is underneath a giant slab of rock; if enough of these projectiles hit this slab, it might collapse and destroy the entire city. However, this criticism is slightly invalidated, as it is stated in Inheritance ''that the slab was imbued with spells to prevent it from crumbling (note: this fact is not revealed until ''after ''the seige of the capitol is complete, making the revelation slightly ''deus ex machina). Golden Armor and Weaponry The books mentions that at least some nobles' armor being gold, which by itself is very unrealistic. Gold is heavy and incredibly soft, making it slow, clumsy, and easy to pierce. However, simple wards cast upon the gold would make it much stronger, and noblemen, and especially Elven, could probably afford to have even more advanced wards to make the armor lighter. Gold armor would be incredibly costly to maintain just by itself, not to mention the wards and spells required to make it functioning. It is a possibility that this "gold" armor was just golden in color and not made of the precious metal, as the series never directly specified that their armor was made of gold. Language Critics also have found errors in both the story's pseudo-archaic language and the Ancient Language itself. The bits of archaic English, such as "aye", "thee", "thine", etc., are often used incorrectly. On page 367 in Eldest, Orik says, "What has put me in mine state?" "Mine" was only used before vowels, and thus this usage is incorrect. It is possible that because Orik was drunk on faelnirv, however this usage seems to be common among the Dwarves, so it may be part of their dialect and this "mistake" could be justified. However, "mine" is also used incorrectly on page 78 of the Eldest hardback edition: "Mine king, Hrothgar, desires that I present this helm as a symbol of the friendship he bears for you." In this passage, Orik is sober and consciously using the word incorrectly. Additionally, the people of Alagaësia make a distinction between the pronouns "thou" and "you", one being familiar and the other being respectful. However, many times they use both of these pronouns in the same sentence, which is highly improper. Many critics believe this to be a result of lack of research on the part of the author. The Ancient Language itself has no distinct grammatical structure, and this has become subject to further criticism. Page 294 in Eldest reads: :"You blessed a child in the ancient language?" asked Oromis, suddenly alert. '' :"Do you remember how you worded this blessing?"'' :"Aye." :"Recite it for me." :Eragon did so, and a look of pure horror engulfed Oromis. :He exclaimed, "You used skölir! Are you sure? Wasn’t it sköliro?" :Eragon frowned. "No, skölir. Why shouldn’t I have used it? Skölir means shielded. '…and may you be shielded from misfortune.' It was a good blessing." :"That was no blessing, but a curse." Oromis was more agitated than Eragon had ever seen him. "The suffix o forms the past tense of verbs ending with r and i. Sköliro means shielded, but skölir means shield. What you said was ‘May luck and happiness follow you and may you be a shield from misfortune.’" There are two problems with this explanation of the Ancient Language. Oromis says that "skölir" means "shield" and that you add an "o" to make it past tense. "Shield" in this case is a noun as evidenced by the translation, "a shield"; therefore, it cannot have a past tense. Some fans say that this is because "shield" can be a noun and a verb, as in English. If this is the case, many feel that this shows another example of the author translating the English language word for word without giving thought to the wide range of semantics. It has also been noted that by adding an "o", he did not make it past tense but made it passive. The phrase "may you be shielded" (because it pertains to future events and is an instruction) is the future perfect passive imperative and not the perfect active. Most languages would have a whole other ending to the verb - for example, "you shall be carried" in Latin would be "portator", from the infinitve "portare" ("to be carried"). Based on this some suggest that the Ancient Language is merely encoded English, and others complain that Paolini did not put much effort into designing said language. Another minor complaint is the use of names such as Islanzadí, Ra'zac, and Zar'roc, which some feel look out of place in a Norse-based language. These names and others are also filled with seemingly useless diacritics, for Paolini has not clarified what they mean. Science In seemingly random places throughout the series, the subject of scientific investigation is brought up. In one scene, King Orrin claims that by mixing phosphorous and water he came up with "quite violent" results. King Orrin also seems to invent a vacuum in a process which is almost identical to that process used by Evangelista Torricelli. This short focus on science seems out of place in a medieval fantasy world. The rest of Alagaësia is in a very primitive state, yet King Orrin seems to be doing experiments that were conducted in real life in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Even though Orrin has the considerable resources of the entire Surdan nation at his disposal, these experiments are somewhat of a stretch. Later in Eldest, the narration mentions Eragon mastering the magical use of several things, including electricity and gravity, implying that the Elves have discovered these. This seems somewhat out of place. The Elves are aware of electricity and able to command it via magic, even though the technology level of Alagaësia seems to roughly correspond to the High Middle Ages. However, it is more likely that the electricity mentioned maybe referring, iring to naturally-occurring electricity, such as lightning and static electricity, both of which had been discovered and studied, albeit not intensively the Greek Classical Period. The idea that they were referring to lightning is also supported by the fact that in Brisingr, Eragon says, "the air prickled and hummed, as if a bolt of lightning were about to strike". Further evidence for this theory exist in the fact that in ''Inheritance'', lightning is directly summoned by a spell-caster. Domia abr Wyrda The Domia abr Wyrda from the Deluxe Edition of Eldest has not been free from criticism. Some find it full of inconsistencies and contradictions. The Domia abr Wyrda was "written" by Heslant the Monk, but no monastic organization was ever described before, and no human religion, other than the Worshipers of Helgrind, has ever been identified. This argument was proved groundless in Brisingr, however, when the Arcaena were introduced. The Worshipers of Helgrind have a cathedral, which some claim sounds out of place in a fantasy world. The Empire eventually burned Heslant as a heretic, though the Empire has no state religion. Many critics consider this to be puzzling. They also question the random evil acts done by wicked kings. The Emperor Galbatorix burned libraries and King Palancar attacked the Dragon Riders, both for no reason other than just being mad. Lastly, some find that the piece as a whole is not at all academic and sounds more like the rest of the book. Other Inconsistencies Other, more minor inconsistencies have been noticed in the series. When she was attacked, Arya magically transports the egg to the Spine. Critics point out that if she possessed this ability, she could have transported the egg in the first place and not made the journey. However, this would have been highly inaccurate; Arya was desperate and not thinking when she transported the egg. And also because of the elves wards around Du Weldenvarden, which prevented anything or anyone from entering the elven cities by magical mean. These wards remained until the end of Eldest / beginning of Brisingr, ''after the elves agreed to leave the forest to fight along side the Varden.'' She was also trying to transport it to Brom, but instead transported it to his son, Eragon. Oromis tells Eragon that Arya tried to send the egg to Brom because the Varden were too far away. Eragon later learns that the transportation spell she used required the same amount of energy regardless of distance. A further inconsistency is the quixotic route Arya and her companions take - they are ambushed near Ceunon, which implies that the route the egg takes between the Varden and the Elves is not the safer Eastern route via Hedarth and the Âz Ragni (which Eragon uses in Eldest), but a Western route that runs the entire length of the Empire. Also, the book repeatedly informs the reader that Garrow is poor. However, Roran and Garrow are found eating chicken for breakfast, and Garrow is using his money to buy trinkets. Furthermore, the house he lives in seems fairly luxurious for a poor man's house of the era; Eragon, for example, has his own room. However the standard of living in the Empire could be higher than one might think. Also in Carvahall, there is the butcher shop of Sloan. The author describes it as being scrupulously clean. Many critics hold that butcher shops are not clean, especially ones in a medieval setting. However, this argument is rendered largely invalid by the fact that Sloan has been implied to be neat bordering on the pathological as is evidenced by his meticulous nails and his polishing a single buthcher knife for an extended period of time. In the beginning of Eldest, the character Elain is five months pregnant. At the end of the novel, she is pregnant with the same child. However, critics claim, Eldest begins and ends in spring, making this impossible. However, it is likely that it begins at the beginning of spring and ends at the end of spring, as Brisingr takes place during the summer and a passage in Inheritance mentions that it is autumn and ends in the spring of the next year The elves are strict vegans; they refuse to eat meat and use animal products. Despite this, Arya is seen wearing a leather suit in Eragon. It is possible that this leather came from an animal that died naturally just like Queen Izlanzadi wore a cape of discarded feathers. As revealed in Eragon, Morzan threw his sword at a three-year-old Murtagh. Also, it was said in the synopsis at the beginning of Eldest and Brisingr that Brom and Jeod stole the egg twenty years ago and killed Morzan in the process. However, Murtagh's 'last birthday' as of Eragon was his eighteenth, which would put his birth a year or two after Morzan's death if the "twenty years" number is correct. Thus, if the "twenty years" is not just an estimate or a "rounded up" number of years (like saying 'last decade' to mean 'seven years ago'), it is impossible for Morzan to have thrown his sword at a three-year-old Murtagh; Arya also mentions in Eldest that she spent seventeen years of her position as ambassador ferrying Saphira's egg back and forth between Farthen Dûr and Ellesméra. However, Orik also stated that Morzan had died in "the last decade and a half," fifteen years, which would be consistent with a three-year-old Murtagh, and probably also with Arya's statement, as Saphira's egg was stolen before Morzan died and there was an indeterminate period of searching in between. Arya apparently said that she had not visited Du Weldenvarden for seventy years, but she invited Rhunön-elda to the Midsummers Feast three and a half years ago. This has been misreported. Arya said that she had not visited Ellesméra for seventy years, but she had evidently visited Du Weldenvarden as she was captured there in the first book. As told in Eragon, Murtagh has brown hair. However, in Eldest and Brisingr, Murtagh is described as having black hair (brothers may have different hair colours due to different fathers). Though this may be a magical altering on Murtagh's part. In Eragon, Brom recounts: 'Tragically, she (Galbatorix's first dragon) died in his arms.' In Brisingr Arya reveals that during the Banishing of the Names, the dragons spared Jarnunvösk, Galbatorix's first dragon, for it was not his fault that he was killed by Urgals. Christopher Paolini may have forgotten the sex of Jarnunvösk and not bothered to check, or he may have reformed the gender of the dragon. However, in a recent interrview with Christopher Paolini, he mentions that some of the earlier editions of Brisingr refer to Jarnunvösk as a male, and that this was just a typographical error. In the book Brisingr Saphira shows Eragon a memory of Brom, where he speaks like a father to Eragon. In this memory, Brom wears his ring Aren. This is impossible since Brom has sent Aren to Ajihad together with his news about Eragon. In the book Brisingr, in the chapter titled "The Whipping Post", a passage reads: Moving farther into the tent, Nasuada lifted the hem of her green dress and sat on the small chest of belongings Katrina had brought with her from Carvahall. This is problematic, because Katrina and Sloan had been kidnapped by the Ra'zac, leaving her with no opportunity to pack. It is possible that this refers to the clothing she wore when she was kidnapped. However, Christopher Paolini has stated that this was an error. This error was caused during manuscript editing and was corrected in later printings. Some have also critiscised the actions of the Dragon Riders, who are supposed to be rightful and just, during the Ra'zac War, regarding their actions as kin to unjustified attempted genocide. It is stated that everytime Eragon says Brisingr, his sword bursts into flames. However, in Inheritance, Eragon says to Arya that she would be better off with the Dauthdaert and he with Brisingr, and his sword remained normal. But as stated in Eldest magic comes as much from the thought as the word so Eragon must think about fire to make his sword burst into flames. This does not, however, explain why other times Eragon has stated Brisingr without intent, such as when he was given the sword in Brisingr, it has burst into flames. ''Deus ex Machina'' Instances Deus ex machina ''is a point in the storyline where a seemingly unsolvable predicament is suddenly resolved with the abrupt introduction of a new character, item, or piece of knowledge; in other words, an unprecedented and all-too-convenient miracle. ''Deus ex machina ''implies that the writer has frankly trapped his own character and has to resort to bending his own reality to ensure that all still ends well, and it is generally frowned upon as a symbol of lacking creativity and inability to think the plot through beforehand. ''Deus ex machina ''is heavily used in ''Inheritance. During the seige of Belatona, a wall becomes dislodged and falls upon Roran and several other men. Roran, it is revealed, happens to be the only one who survives the topple, since he was "partially sheltered by the eaves." Also, Roran finds himself facing death during the seige of Urû'baen; surrounded by soldiers and about to be killed, he is suddenly saved by the appearance of a new person, who simply refers to herself as "a passing stranger" and leaves. Umaroth, speaker for the Eldunarí on Vroengard, teaches Eragon a secret spell that miraculously enables Saphira to lift and carry the 136 Eldunarí without their being seen or felt. The explanation for this twisting of space is not very clear, and its origins are shallow. The Eldunarí on Vroengard are able to send visions and see happenings across Alagaësia, even sending Eragon glimpses of the future, crediting this to their amassed numbers and strength. They can interfere so far as to speak to Eragon through possessing Solembum, telling him where in Domia abr Wyrda ''he may find information about the vault of souls. But there is no mentioning of dragons being able to do this before then. During the seige of Urû'baen, Roran arranges for several siege weapons to target Lord Barst simultaneously, hoping that they will break through his wards by having spellcasters guiding the projectiles to all hit him at once. The plan works almost perfectly, even though up until then the Varden's spellcasters have been suffering sporadic and uncontrollable side effects of their spells. Throughout the cycle, Galbatorix is credited to have littered the many corridors of his palace with hundreds upon hundreds of traps. But after Eragon, Saphira, Elva, Arya, and their elven spellcasters penetrate the citadel's door, they only encounter four - down a straight hallway that conveniently leads directly to Galbatorix's throne room. The unprecedented introduction of Du Niernin, the Dauthdaert, is another example of ''deus ex machina, seeing as the weapon was specifically designed to kill dragons and can penetrate most any wards. Writing Style The criticism of the Inheritance Cycle is not limited to inconsistencies and imitation. The writing style of Christopher Paolini has also come under question. Many feel that the writing is emotionless and unable to make the readers feel for the characters. Strange and complicated synonyms are used almost at random, many of which would not have been known to one of the character's background and education. His portrayal of Eragon, some believe, is unrealistically mature and calculating, and that Eragon does not cope with situations like a real human would. Additionally they believe the writing style is excessively ornate and flowery, such as this example from Eldest: :"Every day since leaving the outpost of Ceris was a hazy dream of warm afternoons spent paddling up Eldor Lake and then the Gaena River. All around them, water gurgled through the tunnel of verdant pines that wound ever deeper into Du Weldenvarden. Eragon found traveling with the elves delightful. Narí and Lifaen were perpetually smiling, laughing, and singing songs, especially when Saphira was around. They rarely looked elsewhere or spoke of another subject but her in her presence. However, the elves were not human, no matter the similarity of appearance. They moved too quickly, too fluidly, for creatures born of simple flesh and blood. And when they spoke, they often used roundabout expressions and aphorisms that left Eragon more confused than when they began. In between their bursts of merriment, Lifaen and Narí would remain silent for hours, observing their surroundings with a glow of peaceful rapture on their faces. If Eragon or Orik attempted to talk with them during their contemplation, they would receive only a word or two in response." The verbosity of this passage and others is the reason that many have the opinion that Paolini over describes certain settings or characters. the main plot suffers sometimes from this much detail during the story, often taking out half of this amount of details could make an 800 pages novel into a short story with less than 300-400 pages. Publishing Many of those who criticise the Inheritance Cycle also add that Paolini's work was published by his parents, and then by Knopf, leaving him without the need to rewrite it for different publishers after a rejection. Category:Real-life Category:Real-life